Rained Last Night - Cloudy All Day Today

Another morning of sleeping in late, but my excuse today was that it was drizzling outside, so it was dark, and cooler (not cold), and again, the bed felt soooo good. Sometimes I go back to sleep and other mornings I don’t. I always turn the TV on and most of the time I watch it, but now and then I do doze off. I usually watch the Sunday morning news and then “CBS Sunday Morning”, but this morning, stupid football was on, so I turned on “Ice Road Truckers”. Have not watched that show in over a year.

Finally got up and made some waffles for breakfast and washed my bedsheets.

Hiker went outside to go potty and came back in all wet. She loves it when I dry here with the towel. She gets are crazy and when I was done, she was running all over the house like Turbo Dog.

Wrote up my lunch and dinner menus for this coming week. Ben and I always wrote up menus so we didn’t just stand there each day, trying to figure out what we should fix for that day’s meals. I stopped doing the menus after Ben died because it was something we did “together”, but I got back into doing it about 2 years ago because I could never figure out what I wanted if I didn’t plan the entire week on Sunday.

Have my consultation with the cataract surgeon this Wednesday morning. I’ll probably find out then when and where my surgery will be taking place. I’m looking forward to getting it done because the eyesight in my right eye is getting worse.

I have nowhere to go this year to take my annual fall photos. Our local pumpkin patch (Lombardi Ranch) had to close down this season due to the drought. They could not get enough water to grow their sun flowers, corn, pumpkins and other crops. There is a big family farm out in Moorpark, but they charge $15 to get in. Lombardi Ranch has always been free admission.

After lunch, it was still cloudy but it had not rained all day. Since it was cool, I decided to go outside and pull some weeds and trim back a few bushes. When it’s hot I don’t like doing that kind of work, but since we finally got a cool day, thought I’d take advantage of it.

Stayed right around 70° all day.

A Day Of Rest

I was exhausted last night from the walking around all day at the Harvest Festival. Went to bed around 9 pm and went to sleep almost immediately. But then I woke up around 1:30 am and it took me over an hour to go back to sleep. So this morning after Hiker went outside at 6 am, she and I went back to bed when she came back in. Didn’t get up until 8 am.

Made some breakfast, sorted my meds and vitamins for next week, put some laundry into the washer and then spoke with my gardener about him replacing my sprinkler syphons in the front yard. I noticed the other day that the sprinklers did not have much pressure and that the syphons were leaking. He said he will pick up some new syphons and come by soon to replace them for me.

I cleaned my three hummingbird feeders and refilled them. Two of them were completely empty and the other one was about half full. They were pretty dirty because I had not cleaned them really good for a while.

Finally got around to checking my email and I’ve noticed that the email scammers are now sending out junk emails that do not have their sending email attached to the email in any way. Because of this, it is impossible to mark them as junk so they will stop coming to my inbox. I don’t know how these people figure out how to get around these things.

Had the left-over fish I brought home from Ventura yesterday for lunch today. A lot of people think Andria’s is expensive, but they always give you 5 or 6 pieces of fish and it’s always enough to bring home for a second meal.

Was much cooler today. High was 89° and they keep saying it is going to rain tomorrow, but I don’t see a cloud in the sky.

Day At The Harvest Festival

Up early this morning because Jean and I were heading up to the Ventura Fair Grounds to attend the annual Harvest Festival.

We left around 8:30 because we knew there would be traffic going up. The festival opened at 10:00 and we got there 5 minutes before it opened.

Once again Hiker did not want me to leave her home alone. She is getting to where when I’m getting ready to leave and I go to give her a pat on the head, she tries to snap at me. Guess I’ll have to stop saying “good-bye” to here when I’m leaving and not taking her with me.

There are only 3 buildings open at the fairgrounds when they have the festival. Jean spent a lot more money did I did. I only bought a “dog” sign for my front porch. We left the fairgrounds around 11:30 and headed over to the Ventura Harbor Village to have a fish lunch at Andria’s.

It was about 80° on the beach in Ventura and it was 100° in Canyon Country when we got home.

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Typical Thursday

I cannot believe it is October already! The year is now three quarters over.

Didn’t sleep in this morning. I wanted to go over to Wal-Mart this morning, so Hiker and I got up and had some breakfast and then I headed out.

When I got back home, Hiker and I walked down to the community office so I could pay my monthly land lease. Hiker loves to go down to the office because Marcie has dog treats in her desk drawer and Hiker knows it.

Ran my scans on my laptops since I didn’t have time to do it yesterday.

It was a little cooler today. It was still around 90° but there was a nice cool breeze, so it didn’t really feel that hot. They say we might get some rain on Sunday. That would be nice.

My neighbor Jean and I are driving up to Ventura tomorrow to attend the annual Harvest Festival at the Ventura Fair Grounds. It should be cooler there as it is right on the beach. We will go to the Harbor Village for lunch. We love the fish and chips at Andria’s Restaurant/Fish Market.

I wish the Harvest Festival was more like a traditional harvest festival, but it’s more like a big trade show.

I watched the new TV show “Code Black” last night and I really loved it. Very exciting show. Lots of action.

Got My Flu Shot!

Since Jean and I are going to the annual Harvest Festival in Ventura this Friday, we will not be doing a dog walk that morning, so we decided to take the dogs out for a walk today before my appointment at Kaiser.

Jean picked me up around 10 am and we stopped by The Dollar Tree on our way to Kaiser.

I had to go to Kaiser to have my eye measured for my cataract surgery that will happen after I consult with the surgeon next week. My appointment was at 11 am and we got there just after 10:30. They called me in around 10:45. They measured both eyes so they would have the left eye measurements for the future. It only took about 5 minutes as they use laser to do the measuring. The technician told me that they now have a retinal specialist who comes to Santa Clarita twice a week. He said if I’d like to not have to go down to Panorama City for my retinal appointments, I could ask to be transferred to the doctor in Santa Clarita. I love Dr. Khodadadi who is my specialist in Panorama City, but it would be nice to not have to fight the freeway traffic every time I have an appointment. I’m supposed to see Dr. Khodadadi in December, so maybe I’ll talk to him about this other doctor and see if he could have me transferred. I’m going to check the Santa Clarita doctor out online to see what his rating is.

While we were at Kaiser, Jean and I were “swooning” over a gorgeous young man who was at the check-in desk. He was probably in his mid-30s and he looked like a movie star. Very handsome. Also, Jean wanted to get her flu shot while we were there. Now I have never gotten a flu shot in my entire life because when I worked at Lockheed, they gave flu shots to employees for free and everyone in my office who got the shot would still catch the flu. I never got the flu and I never caught it from any of them. But….I decided since I am getting older and I know that there is more risk of dying from the flu as we age, that I’d better get the shot, so I did.

Was 103° today.

Another Great Lunch With My Friends

Got out of bed around 7 am, had a little breakfast and then started working on my Shutterfly websites. Since I’m new to Shutterfly, I’m still learning how it works.

Was nice a cool this morning and I sat on the patio for a while watching Hiker eat grass and sniff the air.

Went to meet the ladies in my widows group for lunch at Chili’s over in Valencia.

When I got home, I noticed that Hiker kept acting like she was gagging a little bit. She was making that noise and action like she might throw up. I gave her some small pieces of bread in case she had a piece of food stuck in her throat and she seemed to be better after I did that. It scares me when she acts like something is wrong, especially since she cannot tell me what the problem is.

Tomorrow we are going to do a morning dog walk with Jean before Jean drives me over to Kaiser in Valencia to have the measurement done on my right eye to prepare for my cataract surgery…whenever that will be. Won’t know until after I see the surgeon next week. I’m looking forward to getting the surgery done because my eyesight in my right eye is getting really bad.

Was 98° here again today.

Just A Tad Cooler

Up early for our Monday dog walk with Jean. She had 2 extra dogs with her this morning.

After the walk I went over to the grocery store and did my shopping. Spent about $20 more than usual as I bought a nice roast and a few other things I don’t normally buy.

Came home, put all of the groceries away and then went outside to check my sprinklers in the front yard. Today is my day to water, so I figured it was the best day to check them. I had noticed that it is taking them a long time to pop up, like there isn’t much pressure, so I need to have someone look at them for me. I also changed a couple of the sprinkler heads that were not working correctly.

Just before the “Young & The Restless” came on, I sent my weather report and one of my moon photos from last night into to CBS/KCAL9 Weather Watchers and at 12:30, Josh Rubinstein, the head meteorologist there used my report, plus he showed my photo, not once, but twice.

Had to contact Amazon via live chat because an order I placed that was supposed to be delivered last Friday never came. Amazon is always so helpful and they reps are so polite.

Actually stayed below the triple digit temps today. It got up to 98° but that is still too hot for autumn.

More iPhone Problems

Got up at 7 am this morning and did a couple of loads of laundry, mostly sheets and towel and my summer comforter.

Sat outside on the patio for a little while and watched Hiker playing in the yard. Checked some of my sprinklers to make sure they were working correctly and noticed that one of the syphon valves doesn’t seem to be working right so I’m going to have to talk to my mower about it and see if he knows how to fix it.

Then my iPhone screwed up on me. The screen went black and I couldn’t get it to turn off or turn on. I had made a call to my neighbor Jean and got her voicemail, so I left her a message. When I went to hang up, my screen froze up. Then Jean tried to call me back and my phone was ringing, but I could not answer it because it was frozen.

I panicked, thinking I’d have to run over to the Verizon store and see if they could help me or maybe the iPhone store.

I went online and Googled “iPhone 5C screen froze and then went black” and I came across this program called Tenorshare ReiBoot and it said it was freeware, so I downloaded it and followed the instructions. You plug your phone up to your computer and go into iTunes and follow the instructions there and it somehow fixes the problem and reboots your phone. Sure was glad it worked.

It was not a good “technical device” week for me as I had computer and iPhone problems on Friday too.

So I’ll be out in my driveway this evening to see if I can get some photos of the Super Moon Eclipse and then later I’m going to watch the final episode of “CSI-Crime Scene Investigation”.

Was a little cooler here today “only” got up to 102°

Phones And Computers - Pain In The Butt At Times

I was having computer AND cell phone problems last yesterday and last night. First I got an iOS update on my cell phone and also an iTunes update and after I installed them, my iPhone would not show up on my iTunes and I use that to upload photos sometimes and to back up my iPhone to my computer. Finally got it working after messing with it for about 2 hours.

Next I kept getting messages every time I went into my email telling me that my Office program was not working properly. I have Microsoft Office installed on my computer hard drive, so I have Outlook email (not the online one). Then I found out that I was using Office 2013 and that Office 2016 had just come out. Well since I pay $99 a year to have Microsoft Office on my hard drive, I get it as a “perk”, so I downloaded it, which took about an hour to do and then everything seemed to be working OK.

I’m the kind of person who has to fix anything that is not working and not stop until it does work. I don’t give up.

By the time I got into bed, it was midnight and I was wide awake from messing with my computer, so I didn’t get to sleep for about another hour. When Hiker woke me up at 6 am to go outside, I felt like I’d been run over by a truck. Set my alarm for 8 am and went right back to sleep. Still felt drowsy when I did get up.

Was already too hot to go out for a morning walk, but Hiker went out into the yard and kept looking through the slider. She kept barking me. She was wanting me to come out to play with her, but it was already in the mid-90’s. I told her it was too hot to come out and that she should come inside where it was cool, so she finally did.

I can’t wait until it finally cools down so she and I can start getting out on walks and hikes again.

So it was a very lazy day for both me and Hiker today. Got up to 105° today.

Sleepy Doggy

Didn’t do our normal Friday dog walk with Jean as she had 3 dogs that she had to groom this morning. I slept in a little while, but forced myself to get up and do some housework that needed to be done.

Started getting warm right off the bat. They keep “promising” us that the hot weather will start to go away soon, but I don’t know if I believe them or not. It was 101° by 12:30 pm.

Hiker stayed inside where it was cool and took an afternoon nap while I watched TV.

Will These Hot Days Ever End?

Some mornings the bed just feels way too good to get out of it and this was one of those mornings. It was even cool enough that I was able to pull the comforter up and tuck myself way in. Hiker was up and somewhere in the house while I was snoozing until 8 am.

After we got up and I had a small breakfast, Hiker and I went out to pick up my Lottery Tickets and then when we got home, I decided to take her for a short walk.

Just as we were going out the door, I noticed that my Fitbit was not working. I like to use it to track my walks. I had just given it a full charge yesterday, so I didn’t know what was wrong with it. I plugged it in and it showed nothing and when I went online to my Fitbit dashboard, it told me that the battery was completely empty. Decided to leave it plugged in while Hiker and I went ahead and went for our walk.

When we got back home about 30 minutes later, I saw that it was charging and that the battery was about halfway charged, so I just left it for about another hour to make sure it was totally charged. Seems to be OK now, but I don’t know how it lost all of the charge I gave it yesterday.

Was another hot day here…not fall weather at all. By 2 pm it was 108°. They keep saying our weekend is going to stay in the triple digits and then we should start cooling down, but I’ve heard that before.

I just wish we’d get down into the high 70’s low 80’s and just stay there.

Don’t have a dog walk with Jean tomorrow morning as she is grooming three dogs so she wanted to get started on them early. If I can drag myself out of bed, maybe Hiker and I will get out for a walk before it gets too hot.

Hiker The Fly Catcher

Hiker woke me up around 5:00 this morning. I told her to go back to sleep for an hour, but I didn’t wake up until an hour and half later.

After breakfast, I went over to Sam’s Club to do some shopping. I was also going to get some gas for the car, but they were calibrating the pumps, so the station was closed. I’ll have to go up there another day.

I thought about taking Hiker for a walk after I got back home, but I just didn’t feel like getting out. My stomach was bothering me a little and I was feeling tired. I think the tiredness is from the hot weather we’ve been having. Wasn’t very hot this morning so went out and sat on the patio for a little while. Hiker was chasing all of the flying insects again. It’s good for her because she runs around and jumps, so she gets her exercise.

After lunch I put Hiker in the car and we drove back up to Sam’s Club Gas Station and they were open. Was really crowded as they (and Costco) are the lowest prices in town. Everyone was getting gas on their lunch break.

It was in the 90’s so we did not go for a walk anywhere, but she was happy that she got to go for a ride in the car with her mama.

Hiker the fly catcher:

Doctor Appointments

Hiker didn’t wake me up at 6 am like she usually does. I was in a deep sleep and dreaming, but suddenly, something woke me up and I looked at the clock and it was 6:19 am.

It was such a nice morning. Around 10 am, Hiker and I went outside to sit on the patio for a while. I had my iPad with me and I was playing Bubble Witch Saga while watching Hiker chasing flying insects around the yard.

I heard the phone ringing and when I came in, I saw that it was Kaiser called. They called to make two appointments in preparation for me for my cataract surgery. The first one will be Wednesday, September 30th at 11 am to do eye measurements. The second is to consult with the doctor. It will be on Wednesday, October 7th at 8:30 am. At lease both of these appointments are here in Santa Clarita.

Went over to the mall to the Red Robin to meet my widowed girlfriends for lunch today. Fun as always.

Hiker did not want me to go again. When I got ready to leave, I went to go out the door that goes from the house into the garage. Hiker was sitting right in front of the door just glaring at me, and she did NOT want to move so I could go past her. She even made a little growl noise when I went out the door. She absolutely does not like me to leave her alone. If she had her way, she would go everywhere with me.

Weather wasn’t too bad today. It was in the low 90’s with a stiff breeze. I think the breeze kept it from feeling as hot.

Relaxing Monday

We got up early for our Monday dog walk. Was a little more humid this morning. They say we have a chance of rain tonight and tomorrow even though there is not a cloud in the sky.

When we got back home, I checked my email and there was an email from my retinal specialist in Panorama City telling me that he has put in a referral to a Dr. Chun here in Santa Clarita for my cataract surgery. So I should be hearing from Dr. Chun’s office about an appointment soon. Dr. Khodadadi (my retinal specialist) still needs to see me in December because he is the one who watches the swelling and leakage in my eye and he said I will hear from his scheduler soon.

I did some research on Dr. Chun and found he has a 5 star rating from his patients.

Hiker and I drove down to the liquor store to pick up my lottery tickets. It was already 87° by 9 am.

In the afternoon, we had high thin clouds and it was 95°, all due to a storm that came up through Baja California and then turned east.

Yucky, Hot, Sunday

It was another lazy day here. We didn’t get out of bed until 8 am. Had some breakfast and did a little housework.

It was another hot day here too. I’m starting to wonder if fall weather will ever get here and stay. By noon it was already 102°, so once again, Hiker and I stayed inside and watched TV all day.

At 2 pm it was 110°. I am so sick of this hot weather. It takes my breath away and makes me so tired all of the time.

“Normal” week ahead…nothing special going on.

Hot Day - Good To Stay Inside

Hiker and I got up around 7 am and I made us a couple of poached eggs.

Sorted my pills for next week and did some laundry and a little housework while Hiker spent some time out in the yard, sniffing and wandering around.

Made he come in when I heard the mowers. They were here a lot earlier this morning. They usually do not arrive until between 11:00 and 12 noon, but there were here just before 10:00 this morning. Guess they knew it was going to get hot.

By 12:30 it was already 107° according to my personal weather station. We are supposed to be hot today and tomorrow and then it is supposed to cool down but be a little more humid as another storm is coming up from Baja California. We have a chance for some rain early next week.

There was a “Hart To Hart” marathon on the Hallmark Movies & Mysteries channel, so I was watching TV most of the day.

My Latest Appointment With My Retinal Specialist

Had my appointment with my retinal specialist this morning. Once again the injection I had last time did what it was supposed to do…removed the swelling and the liquid that seeps from the back of my eye. However, I will be needing cataract surgery in my bad eye in the next 6 months or so.

My doctor told me that this is not an “old person cataract” (that’s exactly what he said). He told me it was caused from the steroid injections. I knew that I already had “baby” cataracts and I knew of the risks from the injections (cataracts being one of the risks).

Now the problem with this is that normally you get cataract surgery in both eyes, but I only need it in one eye. This will cause a vision problem as once you have the surgery, you no longer need to wear glasses, so instead I will have to start wearing a contact lens in my left eye after having the surgery in my right eye. I used to wear contact lenses about 18 years ago, but quit because they were such a bother, having to remove them every night and put them in every morning, but now they do have the ones you can wear for up to a week and they don’t cost as much as they used too. I’ll also have to get the kind that has the “bifocal/trifocal” built in or I’ll still have to use reading glasses, which might be the cheapest way to go because I’ve heard that Medicare does not pay for cataract surgery or contact lenses. Don’t know how true that is.

So he wants to see me again in 3 months to see if the injection is still working and at that time, he will refer me to a Kaiser Cataract surgeon. He said there is one here in Santa Clarita and he thinks they can do the surgery right here in town instead of me having to go down to the hospital in Panorama City, but he’s not sure. I would be better if I could have it down right here in the valley.

I hate to have to go through it, even though I know it’s “no big deal” but I look forward to it so I’ll have some improvement in my vision.

After my appointment, Jean and I came back over to Santa Clarita and hit a few of the stores around town and we had lunch at the Fire House Subs.

No walk for today because my eyes are still dilated and also it got up to 101° here today and Saturday and Sunday are also supposed to be in the triple digits.

Walked Around Placerita Nature Center

I was so sleepy this morning and the bed felt so good that I didn’t get up until 8 am. I had gone to bed last night at 9 pm and fell asleep immediately. I think I got up once during the night or in the early morning, and then Hiker woke me up at 6 am to go outside. But as I said, we went back to bed. Hiker stayed for about 30 minutes and then she went out to the living room for a while. She came back just before 8 am, got up on my pillow and started kissing me.

It was warmer outside today. No clouds this morning. I had some house work to do so we didn’t get out for a morning walk.

After lunch it was in the mid 80’s so Hiker and I went over to Placerita Canyon and just walked around near the Nature Center. I have not hiked the Canyon Trail for a long time because my legs and feet just don’t seem to want me to do so. But eventually I will, when it gets much cooler.

It is supposed to be over 100° tomorrow and Saturday, but then it is supposed to cool back down again and we might get more rain next week according to the TV weather.

Tomorrow my neighbor Jean is driving me to my retinal specialist. I have an office visit to see how my eye did after the last injection, but I never know if he is going to dilate my eyes or give me another injection so its best that I have someone drive me.

After my appointment, we will head back here to Santa Clarita and do a little shopping before going to lunch.

Today Really Felt Like Fall

It must have rained a little more last night as the street was wet this morning when I looked outside while Hiker was in the back yard going potty. Also showed .08” of rainfall on my weather station. It was very cloudy too. Fed Hiker her kibble early this morning like I always do. She came back to bed and stayed a little while then she got up and went into the living room. She was so quiet I went to check on her and she had thrown-up her kibble.
She always thinks she’s in trouble when that happens and she cowers in the corner, but I always tell her it’s OK because I know that she cannot help it if she throws-up.
She ate a poached egg a few hours later and kept it down, so I think she is OK. Sometimes they just throw-up even though they are not sick. I’ll keep my eye on her.
Had to run my scans on my laptops and had to pay some bills online, then I went up to Dick’s Sporting Goods and bought a new pair of hiking shoes. I have 2 pair of hiking boots, but they are so heavy and bulky that I thought low-cut hiking shoes would be better for me feet and my knees
. The sun was trying to peek out by 10:30 am but it was still nice and cool, right around 71°. After lunch, it was still mostly cloudy. Hiker and I went over to Central Park for a walk. While there, the sun came out, but was still mostly cloudy.
Hiker seemed OK after “tossing her kibble” this morning. She had her normal mid-day treats and was able to keep them down.

There was still some muddy areas in the park and Hiker walked in it and got mud between her toes. She was walking funny, I’m guessing because it felt funny to her. I wiped her feet and then she was walking normally. I ordered some dog vitamins and a dog joint supplement from Amazon to start giving her. I’ll start her on them tomorrow. Her breed gets hip dysplasia a lot, so I thought I should start giving her something now. She is 5 years old which is almost middle-aged for a dog. Was 83° today.

We Got Rain!

Woke up around 5 am to the sound of rain drops. Went back to sleep for a while, then Hiker woke me up around 6:20 to go outside. She came back in all wet, but since she just had a haircut, it was easy to dry her off.

I checked my weather station and it said I had already received 1.26” of rain, so it must have been raining most of the night. They said our normal rainfall for September is less than a quarter inch, so we are breaking records.

Got up around 7 am and had some breakfast. I gathered up all of the trash in the house to put out in the bin for pickup, then I headed over to Food-4-Less to pick up some lunch meats.

I love Italian cold cut sandwiches, but Subway is expensive and very cheap on how much meat they give you. If I want double meat, it costs even more. They average $6 to $8 for one sandwich. I can buy a big bag of sandwich rolls at Sam’s Club for less than $3 and I can buy enough lunch meat and cheese at Food-4-Less for $9 to make up to 7 sandwiches. I freeze the meats and cheese so I can thaw them out anytime I want a good sandwich.

Had lunch with my widowed girlfriends at the Round Table over in Newhall today. We get so crazy and raunchy sometimes. We have become “The Golden Girls”.

Stayed mostly cloudy all day. They sun would peek out every now and then and it would feel really humid. Got up to 81° here today. They say we still may have more rain tonight and then it will move off to the east.